Follow this monthly lawn planning guide to have a great looking lawn all year round.

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1 Type of Guide: maintenance Follow this monthly lawn planning guide to have a great looking lawn all year round. anuary s the weather is still Wintery and ack Frost is still around, try to keep walking on your lawn to a minimum. Walking over your lawn during wet and frosty weather may cause localised puddling, compaction and the blades of grass can become bruised, which will allow frost in, causing brown scorching. on't worry too much if you do, come pril, spiking the lawn will help to rectify the compaction and puddling issues. Photo credit: Page 1 of 14

2 ow is a good time to check over your garden tools, make sure they are all in good working order. This will make your garden chores easier, as blunt or damaged tools could slow you down and make for more hard work. on't forget to check your mower and spreader, these may need a service and parts may need replacing. February If the weather is mild and dry, take a walk over your lawn to inspect it's condition. oes it feel soft and spongy underfoot? If so, you most likely have moss and or thatch that should be treated in the pring. Removing will promote grass to grow in these areas and improve the conditions of surrounding soil. Photo credit: RH re the leaves of your lawn all different shapes and sizes? ounds like you have weeds growing, which will compete for moisture and nutrients, plus they can smother the grass. s with moss, a treatment needs to be applied starting from pril, when the weeds are starting to grow. ake sure you only use a selective weedkiller, as you don't want to kill off your grass at the same time. Page 2 of 14

3 Photo credit: cience ow you have inspected your lawn and know the problems you need to treat, why not look into the different products available and decide which is the best one for your needs. arch s the pring weather slowly starts to appear, don t be tempted to start applying any products, as it is still possible to get Wintery weather, which will stop the lawn and weeds growing, also any products applied may be washed away. It is also still to early to start sowing grass seed. Grass seed needs warm soil to germinate quickly, and at this time of the year, the soil will still be too cold and risk of frosts are still likely. Page 3 of 14

4 Photo credit: Top Turf Care pril n your marks, get set, go...pring has started and it's time to start your lawn feeding programme, as the temperature is slowly starting to rise and the risk of frost has lessened. You can also start to apply a treatment for killing off the weeds and moss, as these are slowly tarting to grow. Treatments should be applied as per the products on packet instructions, this will ensure you achieve the best possible results. fter you have applied your treatment and the moss has turned black, you will need to rake it out, allowing the grass to tiller and fill in the gaps. If you have been left with any large bare patches, these can be dressed and new grass seed sown, after the instructed time frame on the products label. pplying too soon could damage or kill off any new grass roots produced. If you are applying a treatment using a spreader, make sure you have the correct spreader setting, as over application could scorch your lawn. Page 4 of 14

5 Photo credit: Times ewspaper When you start to prepare the area you intend to sow grass seed, you will find that weed seeds lying dormant in the soil will germinate as well, making your new lawn look untidy. ost of the weeds will be annual weeds, which will eventually die with regular mowing. The perennial weeds will need treating with the correct type of weedkiller, when the new lawn areas are more than 2 months old. on t rake the lawn before applying moss control, as this will spread the spores and encourage more moss to grow. fter raking, you will need to spike the lawn, this will help with aeration and relieve compaction, which will encourage stronger and healthier root growth. Page 5 of 14

6 Photo credit: Grass Clippings If you have lots of worm casts on your lawn, make sure you brush them away before mowing, as constant soil contact with the blades will quickly blunt them leading to poor mowing. Worms are a sign your lawn is in good health and they also aid with aeration, and adding organic matter to the soil underneath. Page 6 of 14

7 Photo credit: RH Your grass will probably have grown to a height where it requires it's first cut, then you can mow the lawn as and when needed. For everyday lawns that are use to hard traffic, cut down to a height of 3cm and ornamental lawns take down to 2cm. reas that you have recently sown with new grass seed, need to be kept moist at all times, this will help the seed to germinate and establish a strong root system. When it comes to cutting this young grass for the first time, ensure your mower blades are sharp so it cuts the grass, as blunt blades will smash into the grass, possibly tearing it out of the ground. ay Keep up with the mowing, but don t forget the edges of the lawn. Photo credit: Lovethegarden ake sure you keep up with your feeding regime, and that any surviving weeds are treated. ew seeded and turfed areas after to be left for a certain length of time, before any feed or weedkiller can be applied to them. This will be detailed on the products instructions or if in doubt, contact the manufacture for clarification. Page 7 of 14

8 une Regular mowing of your summer lawn at this time of year, means the cut height needs to be adjusted to of 2.5cm of everyday lawns and 1.2cm for ornamental lawns. If there is a chance the weather will turn hot and dry for a good few weeks, raise the cutting height to prevent the base of the lawn being scorched. lso in hot, dry weather its best not to apply a feed, as the grass has slowed it's growing process down and may become scorched. re you making sure to regularly watering of new grass. Established, well maintained lawns are very resilient to drought and will not need watering unless you need a good looking lawn for a social occasion. If you have to water your lawn, give it a good soak by leaving the sprinkler on for an hour or more to allow the water to penetrate right into the soil. piking will help water penetrate the soil. Water early morning or late evening to avoid evaporation losses. Photo credit: ltons Garden Centre uly s you can only use EverGreen Complete 4 in 1 twice a year and have already applied it in early pril now is the time to use it again if weeds and moss are still a problem. o weeds or moss then use EverGreen Extreme Green, EverGreen pray and Feed or iracle-gro Food. Keep mowing. ugust Keep feeding. Keep mowing. If you go away on holiday and come back a couple of weeks later to long grass don t be tempted to cut it all down in one go. Take it down in stages over the next week or so to prevent Page 8 of 14

9 the base of the grass suffering scorch and extending recovery time. Take a note of any bare patches, which can then be attended to in eptember. tart preparing the ground for any turfing in the autumn by weedkilling, digging and levelling to remove any humps and hollows. on t forget to sit down in your garden on a nice day just to enjoy it, have a picnic. eptember eed any bare patches. First use a garden fork to spike the lawn and lift gently to crack the soil to remove compaction. Try to do this in dry conditions, as the soil will fracture more easily. ext rake to make some tilth, sow the seed, then rake into the surface of the soil and water. Give a final rake to level the soil before turfing, making sure to remove any stones turned up. Thoroughly soak the soil before laying the turf, once laid water again. Keep moist until established. Keep mowing, gradually raising the height to 3cm. Feed with utumn food like EverGreen utumn to toughen up the lawn for the winter, and kill off any moss present, which must be raked out when black. pike the lawn to aid drainage over the winter. Page 9 of 14

10 Photo credit: RH Remove fallen leaves either by raking or raising the mower height and sucking up the leaves shredding them, which will help in the composting process. Page 10 of 14

11 Photo credit: Little Bit f Green ctober If turfing was not carried out last month, this should be done before the winter weather sets in, give the turf time to grow strong roots. ake sure to keep it wet and don't use a roller to flatten it into place. ake sure you are regularly removing fallen leaves of the grass, also to make sure you pick up any fruits that have dropped. This will help the grass from picking up any diseases and also it can be used in your compost bin. ovember If you have not already done so, make sure to feed the lawn before Winter sets in!! ow if really needed, but only if the weather is still mild, this will also remove any more leaves in the process. o not let the grass grow too long making it flop over, as this will encourage bald patches and disease to develop. ecember Keep off the lawn in frosty or wet weather, stick to using the path. Page 11 of 14

12 Photo credit: RH Care Cheat heet Guide Recommended timings owin g (every 2 weeks early season, every week mid season, top if mild in ov) erati ng carify ing Wateri ng Turfin F F ptimum recommended timings Page 12 of 14

13 g Feed, Weed, oss & Water mart Formu la ( EverGr een Co mplete 4 in 1) Feedin g ( EverGr een Ext reme Green Food) Feed/ oss ( EverGr een Liquid Feed and oss, cotts Builder Food) Feed/ Weed F F (cotts Builder Food plus Weed ) Page 13 of 14

14 Broad Leaf Weed Contro l ( Weedol Weed killer) eedin g ( EverGr een Grass eed Range, iraclegro Patch agic & Grass eed Range) Top r essing ( EverGr een Enr iched oil) utum n Feed /oss F F ( EverGr een ut umn, cotts Builder utum n Food) This lawn planner has been created as a guide and F does not take into account regional, or seasonal weather variations. F Page 14 of 14